Woman in car recounts friend's death after police run him down

One of the women in the car driven by Marlon Brown, who was run down by a DeLand police officer while fleeing from a traffic stop, is sickened by what she saw.

PATRICIO G. BALONASTAFF WRITER

DELAND — A DeLand patrol car appeared to be moving quickly across an empty lot when it ran over Marlon Brown and killed him, according to a witness who spoke to The Daytona Beach News-Journal on Thursday. “I can't sleep and can't eat and I have this vision in my head,” Laheia Olvera, 23, said in a telephone interview. “From his neck to his waist, he was completely smashed. His head was swelled up.” Marlon Brown, 38, was killed early Wednesday when DeLand Police Officer James Harris, 25, ran him down in his patrol car as he ran through a vegetable garden in an empty lot behind 901 S. Delaware Ave., according to reports filed by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol, which is leading the investigation. DeLand Police Chief Bill Ridgway and his deputy chief did not speak to reporters in person on Thursday. The agency also has not provided an incident report. Ridgway released a statement Thursday that reiterated most of the facts that came to light the day of the crash. The statement also expressed sympathies about Brown's death. “On behalf of the DeLand Police Department and the City of DeLand, our condolences and deepest sympathies go out to the family and all persons involved in this incident. No matter what the exact circumstances were, it is always a tragedy when a human life is lost.” Brown's father, Atlanta police Officer William Brown, arrived in DeLand on Thursday. He said he needed to familiarize himself with the case before commenting. Officials say Marlon Brown did not stop for a Volusia deputy who wanted to pull him over for a seat belt violation at 12:36 a.m. The deputy radioed for other law enforcement officers in the area and said Marlon Brown had fled. Harris and Officer Justin Ferrari heard the call and spotted Brown's car a minute later, pursuing it west on Beresford Avenue until it made a left onto a dead-end section of South Delaware Avenue. Troopers said Brown jumped out of the car and ran. Harris drove by Ferrari's stopped patrol car and hit Brown as he ran through a garden of beans and collard greens. The patrol car also brought down a chain link fence, pinning Brown underneath, a sheriff's report states. Olvera said she was in the car with Brown when the deputy initially tried to stop him at Parsons Avenue and Green Street. Olvera said she and three other friends were walking on Green Street when Brown, a father of two whom she knew because her uncle and Brown's father are friends, stopped to ask her what she was doing out in the dangerous neighborhood that late at night. “I told him I was just hanging out,” the Lake Helen woman said. “I told him I had not slept in two days and he said he was taking me to his house so I could shower up and rest.” Olvera said as she and her friends got into the car, the deputy drove past them. Soon after, the deputy turned around and put on his blue lights. “We saw the police lights and Marlon said he didn't like jail and he was not going back to prison,” Olvera said. “He didn't stop.” Olvera said when they saw more police lights behind them, Brown made a turn onto Delaware Avenue. “He did not bring the car completely to a stop and he jumped out. One of us had to stop the car,” Olvera said. “Marlon took off running and didn't even look back," Olvera said. “Then out of nowhere this police car going about 60 miles per hour drove by and ran him over.” Olvera has had her own troubles with police. She recently was arrested on a charge of writing a worthless check, records show. FHP's Sgt. Kim Montes said Thursday that it is not immediately known how fast the patrol car was going. “We did download the patrol car's black box yesterday, however the airbag did not deploy so there is no readable information from the black box,” Montes said. The speed of the car will be determined when traffic homicide investigators reconstruct the crash, Montes said. In September, DeLand police had tried to stop 17-year-old Trevon Lacy for not wearing a seat belt. A speeding Lacy crashed into a parked semi tractor on Adelle Avenue near New Hampshire Avenue. Former DeLand Office Matthew McCormick initiated the stop on Lacy. McCormick no longer works for the agency. That case is still open and being investigated by the same FHP corporal investigating Marlon Brown's case, Montes said. “We take time to do the investigation because we make sure that we cover every bit that needs to be covered,” Montes said. Meanwhile for Olvera, seeing Marlon in such horrible condition haunts her. “I haven't ate nothing since then.” The FHP said Thursday that Olvera and three other women in the car still are not cooperating with investigators. “They are talking to the media but they have refused to talk to our investigators,” Montes said. Montes said there is no incident report as troopers do a traffic homicide investigation, which takes 90 days to complete. A crash report takes five to seven days to complete, Montes said. Troopers have not received autopsy reports from the Medical Examiner's office, Montes said. Troopers were looking at the car Brown was driving and Montes said investigators have not had the time to view video from the officer's in-car camera or listen to 9-1-1 calls to see if they have evidentiary value. They will be released after they're reviewed by troopers, she said. “The primary focus of investigators today (Thursday) is to process Marlon Brown's car for evidence,” Montes said. The victim's father, William Brown, who arrived in DeLand on Thursday afternoon, said he needed to learn more about his son's death before speaking publicly about it. Even so, William Brown said he will seek legal advice before speaking publicly. “This is going to be a very complex case,” William Brown said. “I don't want to make any comments that would damage anybody involved in this case.”

Statement from DeLand Police Chief William Ridgway:

"On May 8th at 0037 hours a DeLand Police Vehicle driven by Officer J.P. Harris was involved in a traffic fatality. His vehicle struck Marlon Brown, who subsequently died from his injuries. Mr. Brown had just run from a vehicle that he had been operating after another DeLand Police Officer had attempted to conduct a traffic stop on it.

"Per the Department's Policy, the DeLand Police Department's supervisor on duty immediately contacted the Florida Highway Patrol and requested that they conduct an independent and thorough investigation in regard to the traffic crash. Complete confidence exists that the investigation will provide an accurate depiction of the exact events as they had occurred.

"In addition, because of the seriousness of the incident, the DeLand Police Department also initiated an internal review of the event. After the outcomes from both investigations are known, appropriate action will be taken.

"On behalf of the DeLand Police Department and the City of DeLand, our condolences and deepest sympathies go out to the family and all persons involved in this incident. No matter what the exact circumstances were, it is always a tragedy when a human life is lost."